Pasadena : Old Bungalows to Be Razed

Pasadena preservationists have lost a battle to save three historic bungalows near the Colorado Street Bridge.

Roger Johnson, U.S. General Services Administration director, informed Pasadena Mayor Rick Cole in writing of the decision to demolish the federally owned bungalows and landscape the site. Demolition could start this week.

The bungalows are among 15 that surround the former Vista Del Arroyo Hotel at 125 S. Grand Ave. The bungalows and hotel were abandoned in 1945 after the hotel was used as an Army hospital. The hotel became home to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the 1980s.

“We are terribly disappointed the bungalows are going to be demolished,” said Sue Mossman, executive director of Pasadena Heritage. “There’s a giant bulldozer posed behind the three bungalows right now.”

Pasadena Heritage, a local preservation group, had fought for all its 17 years to rehabilitate the buildings, she said.

Two other bungalows have been demolished, eight are privately owned and four others are being renovated for the Western Justice Center, a dispute resolution and mediation center.

Johnson informed Cole, who fought to save the ramshackle bungalows, that the million-dollar-plus price tag to renovate the structures was too high for the preservation group.